Tsume's Rayne
by EmaneKafTheAwesomeness
Summary: While passing through a small town, the group meets a few wolves that will change the ways of the pack forever. A journey testing the love, faith, and trust within this small group of wolves that may lead to a place that might not even exist... Paradise...
1. Chapter 1: The Scent Of Memories

**This is my first story, sorry if it's confusing or whatever, but I tried really hard. Please Review! This story picks up right after the pack escapes the Forest of Death. It starts in the first city they come across since then (to see the city watch episode 11 "Vanishing Point").**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or any of the characters, except for the ones I made up.**

**Enjoy! ;D**

**Encounter One: The Scent Of Memories**

Hige turned.

_Huh?_ He thought, as his pack entered a strange city in the middle of practically nowhere. Hige had just caught a whiff of the most intriguing scent, but as quickly as he realized the scent was there, it was gone. He wasn't sure who or what it was, but he knew he wasn't going to bring it up with any of the other wolves. _It doesn't matter anyway…_ As he tried to get the thought out of his head he realized something, the sides of the road were filled with humans, and they looked as if they were the rough and tumble kind of guys that stole and robbed from other humans. _Huh figures… Humans… What're ya gonna do with 'em?_

"Man, what a city looking town." Hige commented aloud so the others could hear.

"It's my kind of place," Tsume said.

"I bet it is, " Kiba, the white wolf said smiling.

"Smell the danger in the air. My bloods on fire!" Tsume said with a smirk.

"Me too. Me too!" Toboe, the runt, called from behind as he pushed up his right sleeve and started to flex his "muscles."

"Pretty big talk for someone who's scared all the time! And that's not the only reason you're fired up is it Runt? For one thing tonight's-" Hige ran up to the youngest one of the pack and put him in a headlock just to poke some fun at the runt.

"Yeah…" Kiba interjected, "It's a full moon." He and Tsume had stopped walking and were watching Hige and Toboe.

"I know it's like that for us 'cause we get our strength from the full moon, but what about Cheza? She looks like she's glowing too…"Toboe commented finally freeing himself from the headlock.

"Yeah," Kiba said softly as they all looked towards the beautiful Flower Maiden "Once a year on the night of a full moon, flowers will hear the moon's call and return to Paradise. That's a legend I heard once."

"So… You mean tonight she'll…" Tsume began.

"I'm not sure if it'll be tonight. We'll just have to wait and see." Kiba concluded.

"What? What's gonna happen to her?" Toboe asked innocently.

"You're not saying that Cheza's gonna bloom or something are ya?" Hige chuckled.

Cheza, who was still walking, stopped and turned around. "This One is excited too!" She called to the pack and continued walking.

All four of the wolves had amazing attitudes today and for once they had gone almost a whole day together without arguing (talk about a new record).

"Come. This way!" Cheza called from up ahead as she turned a corner off the main road.

When the pack had caught up to the Flower Maiden, they found her gleefully skipping around the sidewalk. Kiba smiled as he watched Cheza bounce around happily, but suddenly Cheza froze as soon as she touched the ground in front of an alley. She looked to the right, strait down into the dark, empty alleyway. She was completely silent as if in a trance.

"Cheza…?" Kiba asked just a tad bit concerned. He looked to the right, in the direction she was looking, but only saw an empty alley. By now the other pack members had stopped walking as well and were also looking down the backstreet.

"What is it?" Hige asked, looking from Cheza to the alley and back again, when suddenly Hige was overwhelmed by the return of that intoxicating scent, however instead of fading away, this time the scent seemed to be getting stronger. "That scent… It smells almost as good as Cheza…" Hige mumbled to himself.

"Huh?" Toboe turned to Hige, "What'd you say?"

"Um… Nothing. It's just a scent…" Hige trailed off as he stared intently down the dark alley, as if waiting for something to happen, "Can't you guys smell it too?" As the scent got stronger, Hige was extremely surprised that the others noticed the scent yet.

"No…" Toboe said, "I don't smell anything. Do you Tsume?" Toboe turned to Tsume.

Tsume, who was looking from Cheza to Hige, then back at Cheza, finally looked into the alley. In the distance he saw a figure that was slowly walking towards them. And as it got closer Tsume couldn't take his attention away from it. Soon it got so close that Tsume could smell its scent. Suddenly, the figure started to retreat. Tsume thought about that scent as the figure got farther away by the second, W_hat is that? It's so familiar… It kinda reminds me of…_

Tsume's eyes widened and he lurched forward, taking off at a run towards the mysterious figure in the distance.

...

He didn't care if the pack was following him, all Tsume cared about was getting to that figure and finding out if it was who he thought it was. _What if it's her? It has to be. I'd know her scent anywhere. _He thought as he followed the figure onto the roof of the building that bordered the alley. After they jumped a few gaps in between more buildings, the person finally dived down into another alley, Tsume in hot pursuit.

Tsume landed about 10 feet away from a young woman who was turned away from him. She had long wavy light brown hair and she was wearing a slightly loose fitting purple tank top with black skinny jeans that fit just right, along with black boots to top it all off.

She didn't turn around and Tsume didn't say a word. Hige and Toboe jumped down and landed to the right of Tsume. Kiba, carrying Cheza, landed on his opposite side.

As Kiba put Cheza down, the woman finally spoke, "Wolves, eh? Haven't seen many around here recently… What brings you guys to town?"

"We're just passing through," Kiba said without emotion.

"I believe the better question is, who are you?" Tsume growled realizing that this woman was no woman; in fact she was a wolf with extremely light brown (practically blonde) fur.

"Yeah, cut the crap and tell us who you are already!" Hige pressed on, stepping forward slightly.

"Hmm… What a shame," The mysterious wolf sighed, "After all, I thought you of all people, Tsume, would've recognized your mate."

Tsume froze, it was her. It really was her. His mate, his one and only true love. All Tsume wanted to do was see her beautiful face, to see how much she'd changed after all this time, to know for the first time in so many years that she was really standing right in front of him, that all this wasn't just some dream. He needed to see her eyes just to know for a fact that she was alive.

As so many thoughts rushed through Tsume's mind, the only thing he could say was "Rayne…"

...

"Rayne…" Tsume gasped.

Rayne turned around to face the pack for the first time.

She was beautiful. As a human, her light brown hair fell just the right way, which complemented her features and her gorgeous amber eyes perfectly.

_She's even more beautiful then before._ Tsume thought as he began to smile at the sight of his mate's face.

"Tsume…" Rayne said as she approached Tsume slowly, smiling at the fact that he was really standing in front of her.

Soon they were directly in front of each other, even though Rayne was half a head shorter than Tsume, they still looked into each other's eyes.

Cheza walked up to Rayne and smiled at the sight of another wolf. She turned to Tsume and happily said, "We have a new friend, do we not?"

Tsume, never taking his eyes off Rayne, responded with a simple "Yeah, I guess we do." As Tsume looked into those gentle, loving eyes he felt as if he was actually in Paradise, like being with Rayne was Paradise enough.


	2. Chapter 2: City Of Forgotten Wolves

**If you haven't read chapter one yet, I suggest you do. And I'd prefer that you finish the series before you read this fanfiction. It's gonna have tons of spoilers in later chapters that are soon to come. This chapter's a little talky, but I felt the pack needed to get acquainted with Rayne a little more.**

**Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.**

**Enjoy! ;D**

**Encounter Two: City Of Forgotten Wolves**

"How'd you survive Rayne?" Tsume asked as he finished his share of the meat that Rayne had laid out for him and the pack, "I mean, I thought you had… you know…"

"I know Tsume, I thought you had been killed too," Rayne replied softly, she had led the wolves to a small three story building and took them up to a one window room on the second floor. There weren't any glass panes in the windows here nor was there furniture or much of anything as a matter of fact (not that wolves would need any of that human crap). The place had that abandoned kind of feel to it, after a while it was kind of comforting to Tsume, it reminded him of his old home back in Freeze City.

Rayne herself was sitting on the windowsill and watched the pack as they ate. Kiba sat with Cheza on the wall to the left of the window. Hige sat next to Toboe and Tsume (who was closest to Rayne) on the opposing wall.

"Well after you left, Tsume," Rayne continued, "I passed out and when I woke up I was with Gunn and Spero. We were already a long way away from the danger. You remember them don't you Tsume?"

"How could I forget?" Tsume growled at the name of his old pack leader.

"Who are they?" Toboe asked.

"Gunn was our old pack leader," Tsume answered, "And Spero was only a pup when I last saw him."

"Yes, well, after resting up for a bit we knew we couldn't go back. It was just too dangerous," Rayne went on, "So we ran. And we kept on running for so long… Until we came across this place." She looked out into the blue sky of the afternoon, "I don't know, I guess we just kind of stayed here."

After Rayne finished her story, everyone was quiet for a while.

"So did anyone else survive?" Tsume wondered.

"Gunn, Spero, and I thought we were the only ones to survive, but you still did… Who knows how many others lived… Who knows how many others were captured…" Rayne replied softly she looked down sadly.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tsume said conclusively.

"Whoa, slowdown there," Rayne commented looking at Hige as he gulped down as much food as her possible could, "You're eating so fast you look like you're a rabid wolf!" Rayne laughed at Hige's never ending hunger. Kiba and Tsume chuckled along with her. "So as long as we're getting acquainted, what are your names?"

"Hige. I'm the strongest, funniest, and most attractive one of the group, obviously, and I must say a pretty girl like you would love to be with me and all that but-" Hige stopped when he saw the death glare Tsume was giving him, "But you can just call me Hige…" Giving a nervous laugh, Hige continued eating.

"What about you, little one?" Rayne gestured to Toboe.

"Oh me? I'm Toboe!" Toboe, giggling and smiling, put his hands on the back of his head comfortably.

"I'm Kiba and I see you've already met Tsume."

"Yeah," Rayne smiled at Tsume, "My mother was taken into Tsume's pack shortly before I was born. We've known each other since the day my mother gave birth to me and my siblings."

"This one is happy that you are with us," Cheza smiled at Rayne again.

"This is Cheza," Kiba said.

"She's the Flower Maiden," Toboe added.

"The Flower Maiden…" Rayne gasped slightly, "It's really her?"

"Yeah," Tsume replied, "It's really her. Hey, I was surprised too. But you get used to it after a while."

"So I guess I don't even have to ask about where you guys are going then." Rayne looked down again, but this time she was smiling, "Paradise, right?"

"That's the plan," Tsume said, "At least for all we know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked in the same emotionless voice as ever.

"It means that you never know what's going to happen or who's gonna stab you in the back. I've learned that the hard way."

Everything was silent and no one spoke for a little while, until they heard noises in the room next door.

…

The six wolves and the Flower Maiden stood up abruptly at the sound of voices in the next room.

"What was that?" Hige whispered.

Tsume looked at Rayne's stone cold face, but her eyes were trained on the door, as if she knew what was behind it. Her eyes fixated on the partially open door and her heart pounding with uncertainty and fear she thought, _They're here…_

When no one spoke and the noises outside continued, Kiba slowly pushed the door open and walked into the hall.

When the pack had entered the main room they saw two teenage boys around Kiba and Hige's age and a man in his forty's facing away from them.

"You said you'd be back later," Rayne said to the man.

"It is later," The wolf brutally responded. He was wearing a light brown construction work jacket over a red flannel and white under shirt with washed out denim pants, held up by a brown belt, and construction boots. He turned and looked at the group. "Friends of yours?"

"Yeah." Rayne said looking him straight in the eyes.

"Well I don't know any of them. Where'd you pick 'em up?" The dark brown wolf was a little older, the lighter colored fur around his eyes showed obvious signs of aging. As a human he appeared to have thinning and greying hair, which didn't complement the look of tiredness he had on his worn out face.

"Well you know me, Gunn," Tsume said boldly stepping forward.

"Hmm… Oh yes. I remember now. You're Tsume. I can see your wound has left a permanent scar," Referring to the scar on Tsume's chest Gunn continued, "So I guess I don't have to waste my time teaching you another lesson…"

"Well why would I want to learn from a dog like you?" Tsume growled, bracing himself for a fight that was sure to come.


	3. Chapter 3: Rematch

**This** **chapter was originally part of chapter 2, but it became to long so I split it up. Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed chapter 2. **

**Please Review!**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Three: Rematch**

"That's some pretty big talk for a coward," Gunn snarled getting ready to pounce when the moment called for it.

"Well you know, I did learn from the best." Tsume retorted coldly also prepared for a throw down.

"Don't come in here and try to challenge me!"

"Tsume!" Toboe tried to get closer to the grey wolf, but Rayne held out her arm, keeping him back.

"This is his fight," Rayne said emotionlessly.

"But they shouldn't fight. Right?" Toboe looked to Kiba for some sort of support, but Kiba said nothing.

"I have every right to avenge the wolf who gave me this!" Tsume touched the white scar on his chest; the memories that he had suppressed for so long came flooding back to him, along with the pain and hatred that came with them.

"You deserved that! What you did to your pack, to your family, to everyone that loved you… It was wrong. And you deserve to die for it!"

"What I did was wrong. I know that," Tsume showed his fangs, "But you had no right to tell Rayne that I had died! You were the last wolf that saw me before I left and you never told her what you did!"

Gunn growled viciously at Tsume.

"You told Rayne I was dead," Tsume stepped forward angrily.

"So? You could've died. Shoot, I thought you wouldn't survive three days without the protection of the pack. You don't deserve to be called a wolf. You're nothing but a coward!"

"Hey, like father, like son right?" Tsume smirked.

Gunn lurched at Tsume with all his might. Tsume dodged the old wolf's attack and turned to latch onto Gunn's shoulder with his fangs.

Spinning around and around, Gunn stood up on his hind legs and fell backwards with all the force he could muster, smashing the grey wolf into ground. Bouncing off the floor, Tsume landed on his paws on one side of the room, Gunn landing on the opposite side. Tsume's right paw was broken, Gunn's was shoulder bleeding. Yet they continued to growl and show their fangs as if this fight wasn't going to end in some bloodshed. It was going to end with death.

Seeing Tsume's wound Cheza left Kiba's side to hold Tsume's paw in her hands willing it to heal. Seeing his chance, Gunn sprung at Cheza.

Tsume, seeing Gunn jump, leaped around Cheza and met Gunn in midair, pushing him back onto the ground.

Looking down at the old brown wolf, Tsume snarled, "You touch her, you die!" As the grey wolf opened his fangs as wide as he could to bite down on Gunn's throat he suddenly saw a flash of grey and someone rammed into his side. The shove contained just the right amount of force to push Tsume aside and off of Gunn, but it was nothing that would send him flying-off.

Tsume looked up into the eyes of one of the young wolves that had been with Gunn when the pack had entered the room. At first Tsume thought it was Kiba, but when he looked over his shoulder, he saw the white wolf standing in front of Cheza protectively. And when Tsume looked back at the young wolf in front of him, he realized he had eyes like Rayne's…

"Who are you?" Tsume asked finally voicing his confusion.

"Ry," The young wolf replied just as confused.

…

The other wolf, that hadn't said a word at all, helped Gunn to his feet.

Ry, the newly introduced light grey wolf, wore a grey dress shirt, dark black jeans, and a brown belt with black ankle boots in human form. His long grey hair resembled Kiba's and his amber eyes were (for sure) Rayne's. He and the other mysterious wolf looked about Kiba and Hige's age.

"Mom, who are these people?" Ry asked looking at Rayne.

"Mom?" Tsume turned and looked at Rayne questioningly.

"Tsume, I wanted you to meet him before I told you…" Rayne began, but Tsume cut her off.

"Told me what?" Tsume asked.

Rayne took a deep breath.

"You're his father Tsume…" She said.

…

Tsume didn't say anything. He was too busy thinking of the past.

Of course he remembered it... That magical day... The day when he and Rayne confessed their undying love for each other. He knew what they did together was wrong. He knew that if anyone found out about him and her, they would loose their pack forever. But he didn't care, all he cared about at that moment was Rayne.

As the memories flooded back to him, Tsume suddenly wondered, _Why? Why didn't she tell me she was pregnant? If she had maybe I wouldn't have ran... Maybe things would've been different..._ Tsume thought of the scar on his chest resentfully, then looked at Ry. _He looks just like her..._ Tsume thought.

"I shoulda known," Gunn said plainly, leaving the room with a limp in his step.

"What?" Ry exclaimed suddenly, "This guy isn't my father! You told me my father was strong, courageous, amazing in every single way possible- this guy's just... just … him!"

"I meant every word I said Ry," Rayne looked at her son meaningfully.

"I'm no father to him." Tsume said looking at Rayne.

"Tsume…" Rayne said softly, looking up at her mate.

"No. I may be biologically, but I am no 'fatherly figure' to this wolf. He's obviously done well without one so far…" Tsume looked at Ry. They were the same height and they looked straight into each other's eyes, coming to a silent agreement that they wound never have that father-son relationship.

Tsume walked towards the pane-less windows and gave all the wolves in the room one final emotionless look and jumped out the window.

He wanted to be alone for a little while. He wanted to find somewhere where none of the other wolves could bother him, so he could imagine, just for a moment that he was back in Freeze City, when times were simpler and when he was alone.


	4. Chapter 4: Night, A Time For Sleep

**This is the last chapter of the pack in this city (I'm sure of it).**

**Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed chapter 3.**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Four: Night, A Time For Sleep**

Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and Cheza followed Ry and the other wolf, who still hadn't said a word, down the hall into a room that was directly across from the room the pack had been in previously with Rayne. There were only two windows in the room and both were located on the same wall.

"So," Ry began after finally getting settled, "I'm Ry and this is my brother Spero." Ry placed a hand on the dark brown wolf's shoulder. Spero had short spiky brown hair, reddish-brown eyes, wore a black t-shirt over a long-sleeved white undershirt, with slightly baggy black pants, black belt, and skate shoes in human form.

"I'm Kiba, this is Hige and Toboe," Kiba gestured to his friends, "And this is Cheza, the Flower Maiden."

"Flower Maiden?" Spero asked sounding a little shocked.

"Yup. She's really cool isn't she?" Toboe commented happily.

"Yeah I guess so," Spero said, then he became quiet.

Spero and Ry sat against the wall with the windows; Kiba sat to the right of Spero, Cheza in between Hige and Kiba, Toboe to the left of Ry and the right of Hige, forming a small circle.

"You guys aren't really brothers right?" Hige asked skeptically.

"No, we're not real brothers," Ry said chuckling, "He's just been with me since the day I was born… Besides my mom, he's the only one who's always been there for me."

"Did you have any other siblings?" Kiba asked cautiously trying not to be invasive, "I mean, it's not very natural for there to only be one pup in a litter."

"Yeah. But they're no longer with us…" Ry said. He looked as if saying that didn't bother him at all.

"Oh…" Toboe said sadly, "That must've been terrible."

"It was at first," Ry said in the same voice, "But it's okay now. I've gotten use to it, I guess. Besides, I still have Spero right?" Ry smiled looking at Spero, slinking his arm over his best friend's shoulder.

"Ok," Spero smiled shaking Ry's arm off.

Cheza noticed that Ry hadn't taken his eyes off of her since he had first noticed her back in the other room, but she didn't say anything.

_There's something about that girl_, Ry thought. He knew from the second he saw her. He knew she wasn't a wolf or a human and when Kiba said that she was the Flower Maiden proved it all to Ry._ She's something special, something irreplaceable… She's the one and only Flower Maiden, _Ry knew it.

The sun began to set outside, the rays of the late afternoon light poured into the room.

"What brings you guys through town?" Spero asked after a few moments of silence.

"We are going to Paradise." Cheza said softly.

"Paradise…" Ry repeated.

"Yup," Hige said, "Pretty much."

"Isn't that place just an old legend or something?" Ry asked.

"Well, think about it Ry," Spero persuaded, "They've got the Flower Maiden with them. Paradise must exist right?"

"Yeah sure…" Ry concluded in a distant tone of voice.

"This One does not like that other wolf," Cheza said referring to Gunn, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Well not many people do," Spero said, "I don't like him much either and he's my dad." Spero laughed a little.

Kiba stared at Ry. _That move... That move he used to push Tsume over... I've seen that before. Where have I seen that before?_ Kiba racked his brain trying to place the familiar action. Suddenly he remembered, Tsume had used that move on him when they had first met and got into that fight. Kiba continued to stare at Ry, _He's more like Tsume then either of them realize._

As the sun finally set and the moon and stars finally began to glow in the early night sky, Cheza stood up and walked to one of the windows, she closed her eyes and began to sing her song.

"Am I supposed to feel this tired?" Spero asked, Cheza's song getting to him.

"Yeah, it's normal…" Kiba said lying down.

"Don't fight it…" Toboe said drifting off. Hige was already fast asleep.

"Ry… How do we know we can trust them?" Spero asked a little uncertain.

"We can trust her… And if you can't trust her… Then you can trust me…" Ry closed his eyes and fell silent. Spero looked at Cheza, her eyes closed, her head lifted to the sky, her beautiful song still ringing out. Spero let his head fall back onto the wall; he closed his eyes, knowing that he really could trust the Flower Maiden, no matter what.

…

Tsume was on the roof when Rayne found him. He didn't want to go very far, his paw hurt too much to walk on. He sat facing the setting sun, with one leg outstretched and one pulled in close so he could rest his uninjured arm on it.

Rayne approached quietly and sat next to him.

"Hey," She said.

"Hey," Even though Tsume wanted to be alone, he was glad she was there.

"How's your hand?"

"It'll be fine in the morning," Tsume didn't look at Rayne; he kept his eyes trained on the horizon.

"You know, there were more of them," Rayne said looking out into the distance as well.

"How many?" Tsume knew that Rayne meant that Ry was the only pup she had given birth to.

"There were four. Including Ry that is."

"What did they look like," Tsume felt a little sad that he never knew about all this. He wished he had been there with Rayne when it all happened.

"Well, Ry was the first and the biggest. He was the only one that had my eyes. And then there was Shane; he was the strongest. He was light brown all over except for one paw, it was grey, and he had golden eyes. Lyla was next she was completely light brown and she also had golden eyes. She was the sweetest one out of them all. The last one was Gale; he looked the most like you. Grey with golden eyes…"

Tsume looked at Rayne, but she was watching the sun as it set.

"Each one of them had a little bit of you in them and when they were born, somewhere in between here and our old home, it was like I had you back again… But when Shane, Gale, and Lyla died… The world became cold again. It felt as if the sun lost its warmth and life lost it's meaning to me. But when Ry survived, I knew that he was the only reason why I should go on. I had to raise him. It became my purpose… The only reason I kept going."

"How'd they die?"

"They were shot… By a man and his dog."

Tsume wrapped his arms around Rayne and she rested her head against his chest. She smiled._ Tsume's here, he's alive… And no one is going to take him away from me ever again, _Rayne thought as she felt his warm body against hers.

For a moment, Tsume just thoguht about what to say._ Sorry? No, that doesn't mean anything... __I wish I had never left? No... What's something that can truly show Rayne that I'm here to stay? That I'm never going to leave her alone in this world- in any world- again..._

Suddenly, Tsume knew exactly what he would say.

"I promise Rayne… I'll never leave you alone again," Tsume said as the moon and stars began to shine above them, "I promise will never let your world be dark or cold again. I will never let you go hungry. I will never let you be afraid. I will never let you down. Ever again."

Tsume and Rayne could hear Cheza beginning to sing her song down below.

"Is that Cheza?" Rayne asked softly.

"Yeah…" Tsume whispered.

Rayne lay down on her side, half asleep. Tsume looked at her for a moment before lying down next to her and laying his head on her neck.

"I love you Rayne." Tsume said as the two wolves lay there, only thinking about each other, before falling into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Indecision

**This is the last chapter of the pack in this city, I promise.**

**Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Five: Indecision**

Ry awoke in the early morning. Cheza's hand was resting on his head. He sat up and looked at her.

"Cheza…" He said. None of the other wolves were awake yet. Cheza sat in the middle of the circle of sleeping wolves, her other hand was petting Spero's head as he slept.

"Ry," Cheza turned and smiled at the wolf, "You are the first one up out of everybody. Did you have good dreams?"

"Yeah. The best dream I've had in a really long time." Ry looked down, working up the courage to say what he really wanted to say. Since they were technically alone, it seemed like the perfect time to say it, "Cheza, I want to go with you guys… To Paradise. Is that okay?"

"This One would love for you to come with us." Cheza smiled again and turned back to the other wolves.

"Great… That's just… Great." Ry said feeling relieved that Cheza had accepted him.

…

Tsume opened the door to Rayne's room. It was midmorning now and Tsume had just woken up to find Rayne gone.

Rayne sat on the windowsill looking up into the sky.

"You sleep a really long time, Tsume," Rayne said as Tsume walked up behind her.

"Yeah, I'm always the last to get up," He confessed.

"Why?" Rayne looked at the grey wolf.

"I don't know, I guess its 'cause I never got much sleep before we met up with the Flower Maiden. Even back at my old city I rarely had time to rest."

"Oh…" Rayne turned back to look outside.

"We're getting ready to leave," Tsume said, "Are you coming with us?"

"I don't know if I want to Tsume." Rayne said looking down at the pack. Kiba, Hige, Toboe, Cheza, Ry, and Spero were in front of the building waiting for Tsume to return.

"Yes you do." Tsume said.

"What?" Rayne looked at Tsume, a little appalled at what he had just said.

"Look," Tsume began, "This place has been your home for so long. You've gotten used to the way every day plays out. You're afraid. I know… I was afraid too. But when you finally leave the city and look upon it and see the same view you saw when you first came here, you think 'Eh… It was time to move on anyway.'" Tsume looked at Rayne, hoping she understood what he meant.

Rayne shifted around until she was squatting on the windowsill, facing the outside world. She looked back at Tsume.

"Well?" She said, "Aren't you coming with?" She extended her hand to her mate.

Tsume smiled, took Rayne's hand, climbed onto the windowsill and looked into her eyes.

"I go wherever you go," He said, preparing to jump.

"Tsume," Rayne added.

"Yeah?" Tsume turned back to Rayne.

"I love you too." Rayne looked at Tsume lovingly and together they jumped out the window.

…

Tsume and Rayne landed, hand in hand, in front of the others.

"You guys ready?" Kiba asked, he was holding Cheza's hand.

"Yeah," Tsume answered, eager to move on.

"So you're really going with them?" Gunn walked out of the front door of the building, no one had seen him since yesterday's quarrel between him and Tsume, "Figures…"

"Well why do you care?" Tsume stepped in between Rayne and Gunn protectively, to the point where Gunn could only see half of Rayne's body.

"When he leaves you to die, Rayne, don't come crying to me about it," Gunn said blandly.

Never letting go of Tsume's hand, Rayne stepped in between Tsume and Gunn, just as Tsume had done for her, saying, "Tsume is twice the wolf that you'll ever be. Goodbye Gunn."

"See ya," Gunn said as he turned away and began walking down the street.

"Come on, I'm tired of this place," Tsume turned the other way and began walking as the pack followed, but Ry stayed behind with Spero for a minute.

"You're really not coming with us?" Ry asked Spero a little sad that the wolf he considered a brother was not accompanying him to Paradise.

"Nah man, I think I'm gonna stay here and look after Gunn," Spero replied.

"But… You've always been there for me… You can't just…" Ry refused to leave his best friend behind.

"Bro, listen," Spero put a hand on Ry's shoulder, "Sometimes things don't always go the way you want them to. And this is one of those times," Spero sighed slightly, "It's your turn to take your destiny in your own hands and grow into your own person. You're the one who needs to go out there and find Paradise with your new pack. I just don't think you'll be able to do that with me around all the time."

Ry nodded, "Ok…"

"I love you bro, ok?" Spero added taking his hand off Ry's shoulder.

"Love you too," Ry said softly a little heart broken.

"See ya later," Spero turned away and began to follow Gunn down to street.

"See ya," Ry looked from his brother to the ground. He took a sharp breath in and made a decision that changed his life forever.

He wouldn't be that defenseless little brother that always needed his big brother's protection anymore. Ry looked to his new pack, they were still walking, getting farther and father away by the second. In split second, as he began walking in the direction that his new pack was traveling in, he decided he would be the older brother he was always meant to be. He would protect his new family with his life. Ry knew he would never let his pack down.

As Ry caught up to the others, He fell instep next to Hige and Toboe.

"Well finally you catch up!" Hige said, "For a second there I thought you had bailed on us."

"I would never do that," Ry smiled, he liked these wolves they were really nice, "So where are we going next?"

"It doesn't matter as long as we get to our destination," Kiba said from the front of the pack.

"Yeah, our destination…" Ry said thinking of Paradise.


	6. Chapter 6: Path To Paradise

**Thanks to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter.**

**This chapter takes place in the later parts of episode 11 when Cheza blooms.**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Six: Path To Paradise**

Cheza stepped into the water, the light of the full moon made her skin glow beautifully.

"So this is it…" Tsume said standing next to Rayne and Kiba, watching and waiting.

"Yeah, right about now I feel like I could do almost anything!" Hige smiled, strength filling his entire body.

"We've all seen a full moon before, but because Cheza's with us it feels different, doesn't it?" Toboe said looking at Ry was stood right beside him.

"Ah man! I just wanna howl my head off!" Tsume resisted the urge to howl.

"Something's about to happen." Kiba said, a feeling rushing through his whole body that this was the moment he had been waiting for, he watched Cheza intently.

Cheza began to spin in the water staring up at the moon as the six wolves began to run around her. They ran and ran until Toboe lifted his head to howl. Hige and Ry soon followed. After Rayne, Tsume, and Kiba joined in, they all sang and sang, their howls reaching out for miles around them.

The wolves sat there for a long time just looking up at the full moon, mesmerized by its glow. They couldn't move or speak, not that they would want too. It was like something possessed them to stay where they were.

Cheza stood in the center of the circle of wolves for a while, her head lifted to the moon her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes something clicked inside of her. She felt the true flower inside of her bloom as hundreds upon hundreds of lunar flowers appeared around her and the wolves. The flowers stretched for miles in one direction, disappearing out on the horizon.

Kiba gasped seeing the lunar flowers form a pathway.

"It's the path to Paradise!" Hige gasped, it was there all those legends were actually true.

"Is that really what it is?" Tsume said in disbelief.

"Amazing… It's amazing!" Toboe said in awe.

Cheza began to run; the wolves following close behind her. Heading towards the bright light on the horizon, where the path led. They kept running for miles, Kiba and Toboe in the front, Hige and Ry in the middle, Rayne and Tsume following up the back. It was magical, like nothing any of the wolves, or even the Flower Maiden for that matter, had ever experienced.

Suddenly, the sound of a Noble's ship was heard high above in the sky.

The wolves stopped running and looked up. Toboe looked down, he couldn't see the flowers anymore, they were gone as if they were never there in the first place. The ship landed in front of the group. The door opened slowly.

"The wolves, it's been a long time…" Darcia said.

"That stench," Rayne said, "He's a Noble?"

"What are you doing here?" Kiba yelled, angry at the fact that this Noble thought he could just interrupt their journey.

"Was your little dream pleasant?" Darcia said as he walked down the ramp slowly, "The one when you were going to Paradise?"

"What?" Kiba didn't know what Darcia meant by those words, but he did know that he wouldn't let this guy stop them from getting to Paradise.

"The time has not yet come for that," Darcia said calmly, "Return to me… Cheza."

Cheza gasped backing away.

"Get out of our way!" Kiba yelled lurching at the Noble.

"Your attack is futile, " Darcia said, standing completely still, as Kiba was thrown back by an invisible force field of sorts. The other wolves braced themselves for a fight. But Kiba stood unharmed, growling. A red laser like thing shot out of Darcia ship aiming for the white wolf, but Kiba jumped out of the way.

As Toboe watched his friend dodge the attack, a laser hit the ground right below him. And Toboe was thrown into the air.

"Toboe!" Hige yelled running to his help his injured friend that landed on the ground a little ways off.

Another laser hit Hige as he ran, sending him tumbling over to the side.

Cheza screamed as she felt wolf's blood splatter on the ground.

"Ah the blood of wolves, how magnificent." Darcia smiled as Ry and Rayne ran toward the despicable Noble.

Tsume ran with Kiba, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rayne and Ry hurled into the air by yet another laser. As the sight of his mate hitting the ground distracted him, a laser hit him head on propelling him away from Kiba, who dodged the laser once again.

Cheza fell to the ground feeling the wolf's pain.

Kiba kept running as fast as he could, a laser close behind him.

Cheza sobbed as she heard and felt the white wolf falling nearby after being struck.

Kiba lay there for a second before standing up again. _I will not let him take her,_ he thought growling viciously.

"Kiba…" Cheza said softly, not wanting any more pain to come to her friends.

Another laser hit at Kiba's paws sending him sprawling back again. He stood as yet another laser hit him. Darcia smiled.

Cheza stood saying, "That is enough," She looked up and walked towards the white wolf that lay half dead on the ground.

Kiba struggled to stand, "Don't' go," He said as Cheza kneeled down, "Don't… " The Flower Maiden hugged him.

"It is alright." Cheza said softly.

"Don't go Cheza. We're wolves, we're no afraid to die…" Kiba tried to stay standing, but his body hurt too much. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand much longer.

"This One knows that. This One has decided. It is all right… Kiba, This One will surely protect you."

"Che… za…" Kiba stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.

Cheza stood and walked to the other wolves and petted each one individually. She then boarded Darcia's ship silently.

"Cheza…" Kiba watched as the door closed and the ship lifted into the sky began to fly away from the wolves.

The last thing Kiba saw before he closed his eyes was the moon. It had turned from a bright white to a light orange glow. It gave Kiba a feeling that he would never forget.

…

Slowly Tsume rose for the ground. Everywhere hurt, his pack sprawled out in every direction. He knew they weren't dead but he still trudged over to Rayne. He lay down next to her and slinked his head over her neck. He could feel her breathing softly in her sleep. Cheza was gone and not even the feeling of his love next to him could get that strange feeling out of his system. The feeling that the Flower Maiden was no longer with them.


	7. Chapter 7: Familiar Faces

**In episode 12 of the series the pack goes back to the city they were in during episode 11, but in my story they went to a new city after Cheza was taken from them (just to clear up any confusion).**

**And I won't be updating as often anymore because of school and all that good stuff.**

**Thank you to every one who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Seven: Familiar Faces**

Kiba sat up slowly, grabbing his shoulder. His entire body ached from last night. The six wolves had moved on to a new city, but unfortunately this place wasn't much better than the last.

"You up and moving already?" Hige asked Kiba, no one had said a word since the night before. They were all resting in a strange abandoned building. Kiba and Toboe sat on some large pipes while Tsume lay next to Rayne on an odd metal platform kind of thing, Hige and Ry not far away.

Kiba looked at Hige silently. When he said nothing in reply, Hige looked to the others.

"Come on guys," Hige said getting restless with the group's attitude, "I know we've been through a lot, but why all the moping?"

"I couldn't sleep that's why…" Toboe said looking at Hige.

"Yeah well neither could I," Hige said sighed.

Tsume groaned as he sat up, "You slept like a dead man as always."

"Look. I'm just as shocked and frustrated as the rest of you, but none of that is gonna help us figure out _what the heck to do now_. I mean come on guys! Are we gonna live here in a stupor for the rest of our lives?_ Somebody say something dang it!" _Hige, fed up with the way his friends were acting turned to Kiba, "Kiba… You haven't said a single word to any of us since everything happened!"

"Drop it," Tsume said not wanting to hear Hige say another word.

"Leave him alone," Rayne said sitting up as well, "Kiba was hurt the worst remember?"

"It's not that…" Kiba said, "It's just I'm really pissed off."

The pack was silent for a few moments, before long they heard people yelling out side.

"She went that way!" They heard a man say.

"Get her!" Another one yelled.

"Come back dang it!" A third one shouted.

"She's over there!" The first human said again.

Suddenly a black wolf with striking blue eyes burst through the open doors of the building, she stopped at the sight of the wolves.

"Wow what a babe!" Hige said staring in awe at the female wolf.

"You can say that again…" Ry said. The whole group stared at the she-wolf as three humans ran in.

"She's got friends," One human, who was obviously the leader out of the three, said. The other two men laughed as they approached the wolves.

"Yeah, so what's it to you?" Hige said jumping in front of the girl.

"Hand over the girl," The leader said coolly.

"Why should we?" Ry said boldly, he and the other wolves stood up.

"She's our merchandise," One of the other who's said.

"Move," The leader said gesturing to the other humans, he continued as his men picked up crowbars and panned out surrounding the wolves, "You guys aren't from around here are ya?"

"Yeah, so what if we aren't," Hige said with a smirk.

"There's a big demand for young bodies in this town," The big human said as he grasped the bar in his hand, smiling.

"People will pay top dollar for healthy organs." The other human said preparing for a fight.

The tall human lurched at Toboe, Ry, Rayne, and Tsume, all four wolves jumped out of the way just in time.

"You don't expect us to give up our bodies do ya?" Tsume growled rolling his head in a circle then leaping at the human and kicking him to the ground in one swift move.

The lead human made a grab for the girl, but Hige rammed the man from the side, pinning him to the ground. The last human tried to strike at Kiba. The white wolf tripped the running human and watched as he fell to the ground.

Kiba stood over the human, revealing his true form. The others did the same. Tsume looked at Kiba for a moment, the wolves could've killed those humans in one move, if they wanted too. _It's Kiba's call_, Tsume thought as he stood on one of the human's back.

"I'm going crazy…" The human below Kiba shuddered, "It's the curse of the house of Darcia!"

Kiba growled, staring at the man, he lurched at the human's neck. The man screamed at the top of his lungs, but Kiba stopped abruptly.

_This human does not disserve to die because of that Noble's actions..._ Kiba thought as he jumped off the human's chest.

The seven wolves ran out of the building quickly as the humans lay frozen in shock.

…

Tsume laughed.

"Did you see that stupid look on their faces?" Tsume couldn't stop laughing at the thought of fear in those human's eyes.

The others wolves smiled at the thought. Rayne looked at Tsume, grinning at the sight of her mate's smile.

"I know," Ry laughed slightly.

"That felt terrific!" Toboe smiled as Kiba sat down slowly, "Kiba, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Kiba rubbed his shoulder.

The wolves were on a massive pile of junk. A mixture of stone, steel, and metal made it look like a structure of sorts use to stand there. Tsume sat on a rock ledge, Rayne and Toboe to his left and Kiba to his right. Hige was sitting next to the female wolf the pack had just encountered.

"Hey are you alright?" Hige asked the new wolf.

"Yeah," She replied, turning to look at Hige, "Thanks for saving me back there…" The girl said; she was standing away from the others, a little uncomfortable with the situation.

"We didn't do it for you, ya know," Tsume said coldly, "Those idiots just happened to catch us in a bad mood, that's all."

"She was just thanking us, why ya gotta be so harsh?" Hige said calmly looking a Tsume, "It's not like we run into girls everyday. No offense Rayne, it just doesn't happen often ya know?"

"It's okay, I know what you mean," Rayne smiled kindly at Hige.

"By the way, I'm Hige," Hige said to Blue.

"My name is-" The girl stopped for a moment, looking down she continued, "It's Blue," She looked up at Tsume and Kiba, "It been a while huh?"

"Huh?" Hige looked from Blue to the others, "You guys know each other?"

"You can say that," Kiba replied, remembering the days back in Freeze City when he first ran into Blue.

"You did some pretty nasty things to us when you were with the human," Tsume commented, also remembering how Blue had wounded him.

"That old guy," Toboe said innocently, "Where is he?"

"Something happened and we were split up…" Blue said looking away from the others.

"He was still tracking us in the last city we were in," Kiba said.

"I know he was," Blue said thinking of her former owner, "That's why he was there. Pops will track down a wolf to the end of the earth…"

"I don't get it," Toboe said innocently, "Aren't you a wolf too?"

Blue looked at the others, her blue eyes glowing with hope, "Hey, that girl, isn't she with you? You know, the one you guys were traveling with. She had a… a really strange scent…"

"The girl? You mean Cheza?" Ry asked.

"Cheza?" Blue said.

"Oh!" Hige said jumping up suddenly, "Uhh… About that… Well let's just say we shouldn't talk about that right now! Ok? I know!" Hige said trying to get off the topic of Cheza, "Why don't we look for some food?" He turned to Blue, "I mean we did just bump into each other and all."

"Besides, there's a whole mess of danger for a girl on her own in a town like this," Ry jumped in, wanting Blue to stay. For some reason, Blue looked extremely familiar to him.

"Not a chance," Rayne snapped.

"Why not?" Hige gritted his teeth, he didn't want his friends to scare Blue away.

"As if I'd ever hang with her," Tsume said standing up, "She was doing everything she could to hunt us down."

"Yeah, but-" Hige pleaded.

"You know your only saying that 'cause it didn't happen to you," Toboe interrupted.

"Forget it," Blue laughed turning away, "I don't wanna hang out with a bunch of kids either."

"Well no one wants you here anyway," Rayne said stepping forward.

"What?" Blue looked at Rayne a little appalled.

"Mom!" Ry turned to his mother also a little shocked.

"Come on stop being so mean," Hige pleaded wanting the new wolf to stay, "Don't mind them, they've just been through a lot lately."

"This has nothing to do with you, Hige," Rayne said.

"Mom," Ry said alarmed at his mother's behavior, "What's wrong?"

"You don't remember her do you Ry?" Rayne starred Blue hatefully, "What she did to your brothers and sisters…"

"Well…" Ry looked at Blue, "I thought she looked familiar, but… She's not the one who-"

"Yes," Blue interrupted, "I am," She looked at Ry regretfully, "Those pups were the first wolves I ever hunted… I'm so sorry..."

"Well saying your sorry isn't going to change anything is it?" Rayne just wanted this dog gone; she never wanted to see this "Blue" ever again.

"I didn't know any better back then…" Blue looked back at Rayne and added, "I'm sorry," then she walked away slowly.

"Hey!" Hige said getting frustrated at the sight of such a beautiful wolf walking away, "Aren't you guys being a little cold?" Hige began to run towards Blue, who was already so far away, "Hold on, it's dangerous! Wait up!"

"But Hige-" Toboe called after his friend.

"His tail wags whenever there's a girl around, just let him go," Tsume sat back down.

"Good riddance," Rayne said sitting next to Tsume, her arms crossed in anger.

"When we were back in the City of Darcia, you know the city we met Cheza in, Blue found out she was half wolf. Cheza told her…" Kiba said watching Hige follow Blue onto an empty street.

"Half wolf?" Toboe asked a little confused.

"That side of her must've woken up, after meeting Cheza…" Kiba added.

"Cheza…" Toboe said, "I wonder what she's doing. You think she's okay?"

_She better be okay for that Noble's sake…_ Kiba thought as Hige and Blue disappeared out of sight.

"I wonder where Hige ran off to," Toboe said after a short while.

"Once he gets dumped, he'll come sulking back," Tsume said unconcerned.

"I'm gonna go look around for him, just take it easy until I get back," Toboe ran off quickly.

"I'd better go with him," Ry said as he began to follow his friend.

"Ry," Rayne said suddenly, "You don't actually want her to come back do you?"

"Well… I guess…" Ry stuttered a little, afraid of what his mom might say.

"Are you kidding me?" Rayne exclaimed, "She killed your brothers and sister, does that mean nothing to you?"

"No, it's just-" Ry began.

"Please, tell me, what is it 'just'?" Rayne looked at her son in the eyes, hoping he would understand why she felt the way she did. _Does he really not care?_ Rayne thought.

"Well," Ry was extremely mad at his mother for not even thinking about he felt in the situation, "Maybe it's just because you love Tsume even though I don't trust him! Why should Blue be any different?"

"Tsume has never done anything that would make me not trust him. That bitch on the other hand is-"

"No different." Ry said, "You heard Kiba, she didn't know what she was when hunted us down, she even said it herself- she didn't know any better back then!" Ry looked from his mother to Tsume, then back to Rayne, "Maybe we don't know any better now," Ry said turning away from his mother angrily.

Kiba, Tsume, and Rayne sat silently for a few moments as they watched the light grey wolf walk away.

…

The three wolves lay resting on slabs of stone, they hadn't said much since Hige, Toboe, and Ry had left to follow Blue. Tsume lay with Rayne, holding her hand as she calmed down from her fight with Ry.

As Kiba shifted his foot, an engraving on another stone slab caught his eye. He recognized it immediately.

"That's the same crest from the castle where Cheza was held…" Kiba commented.

"This area must still be part of that Noble's territory," Tsume sighed.

"The Curse of The House of Darcia, huh?" Kiba said softly.

"What?" Tsume asked, he and Kiba were facing in opposite directions so Tsume couldn't see Kiba's face.

"That's what the guy back there said when he saw us," Kiba replied.

"Humans have always seen wolves that way it's why they're so scared of us," Tsume said, knowing all to well how ignorant humans were.

"Why didn't you let him have it back there?" Rayne asked, she hadn't known Kiba for long, but she knew something was up, "I would've expected you to jump at the chance to rip those humans to pieces…"

"It's not 'cause of your injuries is it?" Tsume asked.

"Even if we had killed them I doubt they would've tasted very good…" Kiba replied simply hiding the truth.

Tsume looked at Rayne, he knew something was up with Kiba; he just knew that Kiba wasn't the type to come out and say it right away.

"Can't argue with that," Tsume smiled, not wanting to peruse the topic any further.

…

"Wait up will ya!" Hige said finally catching up to Blue.

"You should go back," Blue said, looking at the ground, "Your friends are gonna leave you behind."

"That's okay, life's pretty boring when it's only guys and a girl who's already taken…" Hige smiled, he looked at Blue. She starred back at him with an emotionless face. _Man, she sure is prett_y, Hige thought as they continued walking.


	8. Chapter 8: Blue For You

**It's been a while hasn't it? Well here's chapter eight, I really have nothing to say so… Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Eight: Blue For You**

"So… How come those guys were chasing you anyway?" Hige asked Blue, the two wolves were on a bridge; though there was no water under it, the ground was a long ways down. Blue was leaning on the bridge's concrete banister as Hige stood back watching her.

"I thought that I should work, ya know," Blue said looking out into the distance at the late afternoon sun shone in the sky.

"Work? I've never given it much thought," Hige said stepping closer to the female wolf, but still keeping his space.

"That's how it's supposed to be, huh? But it's hard to let go of, when it's all you've ever known… For my entire life, I'd been at Pop's side, always wanting to be useful to him somehow… if I could. I know from your point of view choosing to live that way must sound like complete nonsense," Blue looked at Hige for a moment, then looked back out onto the horizon, "But the thing is… I was always happy being that way," She thought back to the days that she spent running with Bruce, Pops' son, and looking back to Ma and Pops just to wave to them. The good days back when Bruce and Ma were alive.

"If nothing had happened I could've stayed happy forever…" She remembered the flames that consumed her old town and she remembered the wolves that tore at the corpses of her friends and family. Pops' stood by her side, fear rushing through his veins causing him to pull the trigger of the shotgun in his hands, "I don't know what happened or if it really was wolves that killed everyone. But even so, that's what Pops believes…"

"Man… and just because of that he hates all wolves?" Hige said still watching Blue.

"If I had stayed ignorant of what I was," Blue continued, "I would've been able to remain at Pop's side forever. If I had never met that girl… I could've kept on live the way I always had been. If I hadn't learned that there was some wolf in me…"

"So what're you gonna do now? You gonna do back to that guy?" Hige asked leaning on the banister as well, continuing to watch the girl.

"I can't go back," Blue replied, "If I did, I'd have to hunt you guys down again."

"Sounds nice," Hige looked out onto the horizon, "I wouldn't mind being hunted down by a girl," Hige chuckled adding, "I'm usually the one who does all the chasing…" Blue grinned as Hige continued, "But some how they always manage to get away. Whenever I get in the mood, I always have to take a leak. Kinda like right now…" Hige eyed Blue.

"Well go somewhere and do it, that's disgusting," Blue looked at Hige smiling. _He's kinda cute,_ she thought, _kinda…_

"I'll hold it, it looks like you're ready to run," Hige smiled back at the black wolf.

"You're nice," Blue laughed, "Gross. But nice."

"Yeah, I get that all the time."

Blue hesitated for a second before asking, "Hey, why don't you come with me?"

"Where to?"

"Doesn't matter where does it?" Blue looked back out onto the horizon as a warm breeze swept past her.

"Sounds tempting…" Hige said also looking out into the distance, seriously considering the offer as the light gust of wind rustled his hair.

Suddenly he caught whiff of Toboe and Ry's scent nearby. Hige turned and saw Toboe crouching behind the last column of the banister, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Toboe peered around the column as Ry appeared out of nowhere and approached Hige and Blue. Toboe followed giggling gleefully.

"We just happened to be passing by…" Toboe said smiling.

Suddenly they heard a gunshot in the distance.

"Was that a-" Toboe began.

"Damn," Hige said thinking of Kiba, Tsume, and Rayne as he and Toboe jumped off the bridge, running towards the place where they last saw the other wolves. Landing on his feet, Hige looked back up to Blue, who hadn't moved at all since the sound of the gunshot, "Hey, what're you doing? We gotta go!"

Blue turned to Ry as Hige began to run, "Why do you trust me when I did such terrible things to you?"

"Hey, we're wolves," Ry replied smiling, "There aren't many of us left and we've gotta stick together, right?"

Blue smiled slightly then jumped off the bridge, setting off at a run to catch up with the others, Ry following close behind her.

…

Tsume, Rayne, and Kiba looked over at the humans who had just shot at them. They were the same ones who had tried to attack them before and they were back, this time with a shotgun.

"Well looky here, we got us some wolves… Jagara's people will pay us a small fortune for you," The leader snarled greedily.

"Jagara?" Tsume said.

Another shot rang out.

…

"They're gone," Hige said.

"Looks like someone was shot…" Toboe said inspecting the fresh blood on the ledge closely.

"This was where we lasts saw them, right?" Ry said hoping that it wasn't his mother's blood.

Before anyone could respond two more shots were heard in the distance.

…

Kiba, Rayne, and Tsume ran as fast as they could. As the wolves rounded a corner into a very wide and empty street, Tsume stopped to grab his bleeding arm.

"Are you okay?" Rayne asked, standing close to her mate.

"Don't worry, the bullet only grazed my arm," Tsume said, not wanting them to stop for him, "Keep going!"

"What's the matter? Have you kids been hurt? Are you alright?" An old woman stepped out from behind a large vehicle that the wolves hadn't noticed when they stopped running.

"Elmyra" An old man interjected, he stepped out of the vehicle loading a shotgun, "You come over here now."

"We have no intention in hurting either one of you," Kiba said calmly, looking the man in the eye, meaning every word he said.

"Oh for Heaven's sake dear, put the gun down they're only children…" The woman turned to her husband a little afraid that he might hurt someone.

"Don't be stupid, they're strays and they're dangerous!" The man said raising the gun, aiming for Kiba, the one closest to him.

"What are you talking about- Have you lost your senses?" Elmyra pleaded.

"Elmyra, I may be an old man, but I am not going senile. Take a good look at those three!" The man said not taking his eyes of the wolves for a second.

Hige, Ry, Toboe, and Blue ran up behind Kiba and the others.

"Oh crap!" Hige said jumping back as the man pointed the shotgun at him.

Blue ran forward, switching to her wolf form, dodging a bullet from the man's gun. As the dust cleared Blue sat in front of the old man.

"We are not going to do anything to you," Kiba said trying to make peace, "So just leave us alone," Kiba paused for a moment, "I don't want to fight, if there's no reason to. I don't want to kill."

Tsume looked at Kiba for a second. He couldn't believe what he had just heard… Kiba, saying he didn't want to kill? The first time Tsume met Kiba, the white wolf said there was nothing wrong with killing… Where was that Kiba now?

"Did you see the wolves?" One of the men that was trying to hunt the wolves down yelled from a little ways away.

"Search over there!" Another bellowed.

Rayne turned at the sound of the human's voices. She looked back to the old man, "Those people want to capture us and sell us to the highest bidder. It's up to you whether we can avoid bloodshed."

The man starred at the wolves, debating whether or not to help these "beasts" or not.

…

A large group of men ran around the corner as the sound of multiple shots resonated across the town.

All they saw was a man with a shot gun standing in front of a massive cloud of dust.

"Die you damn wolves! Take this!" The old man shouted firing yet another shot as the group ran up to him, "And this!" He fried one last shot.

As the dust cleared, it revealed seven wolves lying on the ground, still and unmoving.

"Did you kill them?" The leader yelled.

The old man turned to the group and reloaded his gun.

"Stop it! Stop it! That's enough!" An old woman sobbed latching on to the old man's arm, preventing him from shooting anymore.

"They cast a spell on me! I was only-" The man screamed crazily.

"Calm down-" The woman cried, fearing for her husband's safety and sanity.

"Dammit! Those things are worthless if they're dead…" The leader said to himself as the man and woman continued to shout.

…

The pack ravenously ate the chicken the old woman, named Elmyra, had laid out for them on the table in front of the vehicle.

"Please forgive my husband, I can't believe he thought you were wolves, of all things…" Elmyra apologized; she looked back at her husband, who sat in a rocking chair away for the others petting the black dog calmly and silently, "He's starting to get more and more confused lately. That's why we came out here on this little jaunt. 'Let's spend the time we have left on the road,' he said. So now, this trailer is our home as well as our coffin."

Tsume and Rayne leaned against the table, facing away from the others, as they ate. Kiba stood nearby listening intently and taking a bit out of his food occasionally. They looked up at the old woman as she said these words.

"But we've seen such horrible things…" She continued, "That Castle of the Darcia's to the west of here, which must have been beautiful once, is nothing but a giant grave…"

"The Castle of the Darcia's?" Kiba whispered eagerly, thinking of Cheza.

"It's as if everything in this world has given up its desire to live," She looked down sadly.

"No, it hasn't." Kiba said boldly as Elmyra looked up at him, "The old man isn't confused at all. He's right… We are wolves."

Hige, who sat next to Ry at the table, looked down to Toboe who sat on the ground. "You ready to go?" Toboe nodded as he stood up.

Blue stood up in human form, "Good bye mister, take care." She turned away from the old man and began to run with Ry, Rayne, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe.

"Where are you going to go?" The old man asked.

Kiba stopped running and turned back to the couple, "To the Castle in the West."

And with that, he began to run again.


	9. Chapter 9: Obsession

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**Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Enjoy! ;D**

**Encounter Nine: Obsession**

Ry stood on the concrete banister of the bridge. The light breeze swept by him as he closed his eyes. He thought of Spero... _If only he was here... _Ry didn't know why, but he wasn't happy at all. His mother was safe, the pack was together, they were about to head out and (hopefully) find Cheza. But he still wasn't happy. _Is it because of Spero? No… That's not it, _Ry thought, _Maybe it's because Cheza's not here? No, it's a definite downer, but no… _Ry racked his brain trying to figure it out, but nothing came to mind.

He looked behind him, Blue sat silently on a concrete bench in the middle of the narrow bridge's path.

Hige sat next to her.

Ry's heart surged with jealousy. He looked away quickly, hoping nobody had sensed his feelings towards Hige and Blue.

After the excitement of the night before, the pack had taken shelter in an abandoned building. They had woken early and found their way back to the bridge that Blue, Ry, Toboe, and Hige had been on just the day before.

Toboe stood with Ry on the concrete banister, while Tsume and Rayne stood a little ways away, leaning on the banister together. Hige sat next to Blue as Kiba stood away from the pack looking off in a completely different direction.

"Where are you guys headed?" Blue asked looking at Hige.

"We're all trying to make our way to Paradise," Hige responded calmly.

"Paradise?" Blue repeated.

"It's something every wolf has to try to do," Hige stated.

"Oh right," Blue looked down, "To find Paradise…"

"You're gonna come with us, aren't ya Blue?" Hige inquired, looking at Blue hopefully.

"It sounds tempting, but I can't go," Blue said sadly. She really did want to go, but then again, she was only half wolf, who said she had what it took to get to Paradise?

"Well then I'm not going either," Hige said looking away from Blue.

"Hige…" Blue whispered.

"Ya know," Kiba said, "You'd probably be better off, if you stayed with the humans," He turned to look at Blue, "It's not to late to go back."

"What the hell are you saying Kiba?" Hige said, not wanting the other wolves to scare Blue away again.

"I have no intention of going back," Blue said, not looking at anyone, "I can never return to the way I was before. Not Now…"

"Blue…" Hige sighed.

"I just… I need to find out what I really am," Blue stated finally.

"Well then, the only thing you can do is move forward," Kiba said still looking at Blue. The black she-wolf looked at the white wolf. Blue wondered how much wisdom Kiba really had… _Can I trust them?_ She thought.

"Yeah, he's right," Hige stood up as Toboe jumped down from the banister, "We just gotta move forward! Right? Right?" Hige looked from Toboe to Ry then to Tsume and Rayne.

"Oh yeah," Tsume said, "I can see right through you, Porky."

"If only Cheza were with us," Toboe commented softly.

Hige ran up and lightly punched Toboe in the head, "I told you not to say that!" The tan wolf stood tall, "Ok! Now that everything's settled, time to get a move on," Hige pointed in the direction that Ry and Toboe had been facing, just a little while ago, "On to Paradi-"

"We're going this way," Kiba said pointing of in a different direction.

"Huh?" Hige wondered.

"Paradise isn't over there…" Toboe commented.

"But Darcia's Keep is," Kiba said resolutely.

"His Keep?" Rayne asked.

"Yeah," Kiba said.

"Do you think Cheza's there?" Toboe probed.

Kiba looked at the rest of the pack and nodded.

"Kiba," Tsume began, "She left us on her own free will, ya know."

"She only did that to protect us," Kiba stated firmly. The two stared at each other menacingly for a moment, "She's waiting for us, I know she is."

"That Noble will be there too, " Tsume said trying to test Kiba's determination.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Kiba said unwaveringly.

"We all might get killed this time," Tsume tried again.

"If we're meant to die, then so be it," Kiba said emotionlessly.

"When that happens, you'll be on your own," Tsume looked away thinking, _Man, this kid really means it… I guess we better go then. He's probably right..._

"So we're going to find Cheza right?" Toboe asked eagerly.

"Right," Rayne said, "Then let's go."

Ry jumped down from the banister and followed Toboe and Kiba as they began to run. Rayne and Tsume were close behind him.

Hige noticed Blue hadn't moved at all, he outstretched a hand to her.

"Come on," Hige said with a smile.

She looked into his kind eyes for a long moment, before making her final decision.

Together the seven wolves ran, to find the one and only Flower Maiden.

…

The storm was harsh.

As the wolves trudged through the deep snow, the violent wind beat them down. Kiba moved as fast as he could, Rayne and Tsume tried to keep up, while Hige was walking with Ry. Hige looked behind him and suddenly noticed how far behind Toboe and Blue were.

Hige stopped walking, "Kiba!" He yelled, his voice was barely audible over the howling wind.

Tsume, Rayne, and Ry all stopped to look at Hige, but Kiba kept on moving, pretending he hadn't heard.

Angrily, Hige ran up to the white wolf and grabbed his shoulder. As Kiba turned to look at him, Hige paused to take a breath. Even that small of a distance had taken a lot of energy, "Dammit wait up will ya? Come on. You're going to fast. Let's take a break."

"We don't have time for that," Kiba turned away to keep on moving.

"Would you use your head for once? We've got girls and a little kid with us!" Hige yelled.

"I can hear you, ya know," Blue yelled from behind, "Don't worry about me, I can keep up."

"Ya, me too," Toboe panted.

"You realize he's the one that wants to rest don't you?" Tsume taunted.

"I do not!" Hige said, "I just-"

"But you've gotta admit he does have a point," Tsume looked at Kiba in the eyes, "At this rate non of us will make it."

"We can take shelter in those rocks until the storm clears," Rayne said gesturing over to a large pile of rocks of to the side.

"That settles it then," Hige said turning to Blue and Toboe, "Can you guys hang in a little longer?"

"Just worry about yourself, " Blue said continuing to walk.

"Yes mam, I'm sorry," Hige said looking down.

Tsume stared at Kiba, "Let's go," Tsume said as he began to walk with Rayne in the direction of the shelter. _Something's not right with him_, Tsume thought about Kiba, _His belief that we'll find the Flower Maiden is leaning more towards obsession than just faith…_

…

Kiba stood at the entrance of the shelter, he stared out into the distance silently.

Rayne sat with Tsume near the entrance. Ry and Hige sat on the floor on one side of the room while Blue and Toboe sat on the floor next to the adjacent wall.

"The sun will be up soon," Tsume said, "We should rest here until then."

"What do you say Kiba?" Hige looked up hopefully, "I mean the storm will blow itself out by morning."

"It already has…" Kiba said as everyone looked up at him, "Come on, it'll be fine."

"Well none of us will be fine!" Tsume yelled angrily, as much as he cared about the Flower Maiden, he cared about Rayne and Toboe and the rest of his pack too. It's not like they could do anyone much help if they were all dead.

"Do what you want, I'm leaving," Kiba stated, Cheza was the only thing on his mind.

"Look I can handle it," Blue said as she stood up.

"Yeah, let's get going," Toboe said standing up as well.

"No," Hige glared at Kiba, "I'm not going anywhere till morning."

"I understand," Kiba looked from Hige to Tsume and jumped outside.

"Kiba…" Toboe said, not wanting the group to be split again.

"Let him go," Hige said.

"But why?" Toboe asked innocently.

"Right now the only thing he can see is Cheza… It doesn't make a difference whether we're with him or not," Hige replied.

"We'll follow him once the storm blows over," Tsume said calmly, "For now just get some rest and don't worry about it."

"Hige… You sure about this?" Blue asked, Hige looked down, not wanting to answer.

"He obsesses too much," Ry said, "What can ya do?"

…

The white wolf ran as fast as he could; now he could travel at his own speed, there was no one to hold him back. He could feel Cheza waiting for him. _I'm coming Cheza, _He thought_, Don't worry. I'm coming…_

…

Rayne lay with Tsume; she held his hand close to her heart. She hadn't said much since she and Ry began their journey with the pack. Everything was going so quickly, it was hard to keep up. She was happy she had Tsume back; that moment when they were reunited was probably the second happiest thing to ever happen to her. The first being when her pups were born. Rayne thought about Blue and what Ry had said, _Maybe he's right… _Rayne thought,_ Maybe I was too quick to judge. I guess she's not that bad… _Rayne looked at the sleeping black she-wolf for a moment, _Maybe… _Suddenly the thought of Cheza crossed the blonde she-wolf's mind. Rayne wondered, after they got Cheza back, where would they go after that? Then again, what made it absolutely positive that they would even find her? _Cheza…_

…

Ry tried to go to sleep, but the thought of what tomorrow would bring kept him awake. He didn't like the thought of Hige and Blue being together. He didn't even know why he liked Blue so much, he only wanted her to be happy and if Hige made her happy, then so be it. _Same with Mom,_ Ry thought, _Even though I don't like Tsume for many reasons, like not being there for my mother when she needed him the most and showing up one day and pretending like he's never stopped loving her, if he's gonna protect her… Then I guess he can stay. But if he ever hurts my mom again, I'll kill him. No doubt about it…_

…

Kiba ran. There was a strange figure in the distance. Only one thing crossed his mind, _Darcia's Keep._

…

Tsume was only pretending to be asleep. He closed his eyes and kept them closed so Rayne wouldn't think he was awake. He held her hand. He felt her breath steadily. He knew soon they would have to get moving and catch up with Kiba, but he was so tired… _Why can't I ever fall asleep? I guess it was those days back in Freeze City, maybe even the incidents before that, which got me so on edge about letting my guard down…_

…

The six wolves had set out once again. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Tsume, Rayne, Toboe, Hige, Blue, and Ry all ran for hours until finally they came upon a strange castle. They all knew what this outlandish place was; it was the Keep of Darcia.


	10. Chapter 10: A Detective, a Scientist, an

**Hey, chapter ten is here (wow, it's been a while) and I just want to say thank you to everyone who's read and/or reviewed any of the past chapters. It's been a blast writing this for you guys and trust me, there's plenty more to come.**

**A little reminder that it is advised that before you read this you should probably be done watching the anime, 'cause there are tons of spoilers… so yeah…**

**Please read and review!**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Encounter Ten: A Detective, a Scientist, and a Drunk**

"My Lord Darcia," Neige cut through the silence, "Inside the keep there's-"

"A wolf," Darcia interrupted.

"Yes…" Neige said.

Neige, Lord Darcia's faithful servant and seer, sat near the large closed doors on one side of the chamber. Darcia sat in the corner, when he had returned to his keep earlier he found his love, Hamona, stripped of her life. He knew who did it, but at the moment revenge was out of the question. The pain of losing Hamona was just too much to bear...

"My love…" The Noble said softly, "Now that I have lost you… Paradise holds no meaning for me… And yet-" He grabbed his left eye, which pained him so, "This wolf's eye throbs. Why? What is this feeling that threatens to overwhelm me? My beloved Hamona, tell me. What should-" He began to sob quietly.

After Darcia had thrown her earlier, Cheza had landed in the middle of the chamber. As she lay there quietly, Cheza slowly opened her eyes. She could feel him. He was coming for her.

Suddenly, his presence was stronger than ever as he drew closer to the chamber.

"He is here," Cheza gasped.

…

Kiba ran as fast as he could. The worn out walls of Darcia's Keep surrounded him, but he knew exactly where to go. He could feel Cheza's presence near; he knew he would find her.

…

"So this is the Keep if Darcia…" Tsume said as the pack finally arrived to their destination.

"Place looks like it should be haunted," Ry commented, the six wolves gazed up at the castle looming in front of them, or at least what was left of it.

"By what?" Toboe asked looking at Ry.

"By the ghosts of all the cursed Nobles," Hige replied with a hoarse voice.

"Ah!" Toboe jumped, scared by Hige's sudden outburst, "Come on don't say stuff like that," Toboe said innocently as Ry and Hige began to laugh.

"Cut it out guys," Rayne interrupted.

"But still, are you sure that girl is inside of there?" Blue inquired as Hige and Ry's laughter died down.

Hige sniffed the air. "The scent is faint," He answered, "But it's definitely a lunar flower."

The pack walked across the narrow bridge towards the keep. They stopped at the sight of an abandoned red car up ahead.

"He's got visitors," Tsume said.

Blue gasped. She pushed past Hige, Rayne, and Tsume and began towards the car.

"Hey, hold on!" Hige shouted after her.

She peered inside the window, the car was empty. Blue smelt the snow-covered ground and caught on to a familiar scent, "Pops is here…" She murmured.

"Blue, what is it? What's gotten into you?" Hige said running up behind her. Blue didn't respond as she ran toward the entrance to the castle.

"Come on," Rayne said as she and the others ran past Hige to catch up with their friend.

…

"Who are the Nobles anyway?" A man in a blue trench coat asked the blonde woman walking next to him.

"There was extensive literature dealing with the nobility, but most of it was lost with the decline of civilization," The woman replied calmly as they continued to walk through the halls of the Keep of Darcia, "Yet there are some things we do know. They say that long before the world became as it is now, the Nobles extolled the virtues of this culture. By using an amazing form of alchemy, they blazed a path to the stars and opened the doors to space and time. But in an instant, all of it simply vanished. No one really knows what happened then, but many people disappeared… The development and execution of their alchemy came to be a secret, known only to the remaining Nobles, that was never to be passed on to the people," She and the man stood in front of a decorated wall that displayed stars, flying crafts, strange mechanisms and circles, possibly planets, along with designs of all sorts, "All of that happened almost 200 years ago…" The woman sighed.

A man in a large brown trench coat walked up behind the two, a shotgun in hand. The man was not an enemy of theirs; in fact this drunken fellow with a low, gravelly voice was a friend. The man gave no regards to the intricately designed wall and continued to walk down the corridor, saying "And now what remains of this world is slowly fading away… Along with the blood red moon."

…

"He is here," Cheza said softly. Slowly, she stood up and faced the door as a smile spread across her face.

The doors swung open suddenly and a white wolf ran into the room.

"Cheza!" Kiba shouted as he stopped in front of the doorway.

"Kiba!" Cheza said happily.

…

"Why the hell are you in such a rush?" Hige asked as he, Toboe, and Ry caught up with Blue.

"It's Pops," Blue replied as her friends tried to keep up with her, "I know he's here."

"But do you really wanna see him?" Toboe asked, "That Pops guy?"

Blue looked at Toboe as she suddenly stopped walking, "No. It might be better if I didn't…"

"But maybe the reason he's out her is to find you," Ry at Blue. The four wolves stood there silently for a moment.

"So? What if he is?" Tsume said from behind, they all turned to look at him and Rayne standing there, "Are you gonna go back to being that humans dog?"

"Hey lay off," Hige said.

"Yeah. Be quiet Tsume. You don't know what it's like," Toboe said.

"I guess I don't," Tsume continued, "Unlike the two of you, none of us have ever had the pleasure of being kept as a pet."

"Look guys, let's go find Kiba and Cheza. We can fight later," Rayne interfered. All she wanted to do was find Cheza (she didn't doubt the fact that Kiba would be with the flower maiden by now) and get out of here; Rayne had the strange sense that something bad was about to go down.

"Yeah, the flower scent's coming from over there," Hige added, eager to move on.

…

"The worship of wolves, eh?" The man in the blue coat said as he inspected yet another decorated wall. This wall, unlike the last they came across, had wolves painted on it.

"But it's not just a simple animal cult," The woman said, "It's deeper than that. I think the vision of this world has spilt somehow. There's one we humans can see and one we must've lost sight of at one point. I'm fairly certain the animal's are aware of that."

"Including the wolves?" The man asked just before he sneezed.

"What the hell brought that on?" The other man with the shotgun asked.

"I have a terrible allergy to dogs," He responded, pulling out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose as he sneezed again.

"That a fact? Then they must be over this way," The man with the shotgun said, walking away, "Those allergies sure do come in handy."

"Glad I could help," The man responded following his friend.

The woman stared at the figure of a howling wolf in the center of the wall. She didn't know why, but she felt the wolf meant something important. Why else would it be in the center? _What were the Nobles concerning themselves with when they painted these wolves on here? What does it all mean? There's something we humans don't have a clue about, but what could it be? _The woman turned to follow her companions, _Maybe it's better if we never find out._


	11. Chapter 11: Round Two

**This chapter was originally part of chapter 10, but I decided to split it up. Anyways, thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed the past chapters.**

**Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. School's started recently so I should update more often, I just really need to get this chapter done so I can focus on the next one.**

**Please read and review.**

**Enjoy! ;D**

**Encounter Eleven: Round Two**

"Kiba!" Cheza said happily as she ran toward him.

"Cheza!" Kiba gasped as Darcia suddenly appeared behind the Flower Maiden, grabbed her by the back of her neck and lifted her up. Cheza screamed as the Noble took of his mask.

Darcia growled as he saw right through the white wolf's human disguise and threw the Flower Maiden off to the side. Kiba's eyes widened as Cheza screamed when she hit the wall.

Kiba ran forward to attack Darcia, but he only met the Noble's blade. The white wolf turned back to look at his enemy, they were both cut on the right side of their faces.

"So wolf," Darcia said, "Have you come for revenge?"

"You will NOT hurt Cheza!" Kiba growled.

"Cheza… She is a being that we created. A mere embodiment of a lunar flower," Darcia said calmly looking upon the wolf, "Why is it that your desire for her is so desperate?"

"I don't know who you Nobles are or what you're trying to do and to be honest, I don't really care. Cheza's all that matters. She's gonna show us the way to Paradise," Kiba said as he glared at Darcia.

"You damn wolf. All of this first began with your wretched breed!" Darcia said furiously as he ran straight towards the white wolf.

Kiba jumped at the Noble and met another blow from Darcia's sword.

"It's because of you," Darcia continued, "You and your kind have stolen everything form me. And in return you gave me a curse and grief. And suffering. And my eye transformed into one such as yours. The price I pay for being cursed… By Paradise…" Darcia lifted his sword so it was right above Cheza's neck. She lay there, motionless, not making a sound, "And now, the only thing that surrounds me is despair…"

"Don't!" Kiba yelled as he stepped forward, preparing to jump at the Noble, "What is it? What do you want?"

"Have you found it? Have you found Paradise?" Darcia said placidly.

"We will. No matter what," Kiba responded.

"And what do you expect to find there?"

"A future," Kiba said certainly.

"A future?" Darcia looked at the wolf.

"Not hope. Or despair. Just a future. Nothing more."

"I no longer have any need," Darcia looked up, remembering his beloved Hamona, "For a… Future…"

Kiba growled viciously as a shot rang out.

Kiba turned and looked at a familiar face. It was the man who shot him back in Freeze City, Blue's old owner Quent (Pops).

Quent reloaded his shotgun as two other humans ran up behind him.

Darcia dropped his sword and slowly walked away, not even glancing at the humans. But he sensed the woman's presence; she had spent some time with him not long ago.

"It's over wolf," Quent said as he tried to aim at the wolf's heart, but for some reason his hand wasn't steady enough to lock onto Kiba's chest. He stared at the wolf intently for a moment before moving his finger onto the trigger.

"No don't!" Blue yelled as she jumped in front of Kiba, shielding him from Quent's aim.

Quent gasped as he looked upon the black dog, "Blue…"

"Kiba!" Toboe yelled as he and the other wolves ran into the chamber.

Neige looked at the glass orb in her hands. It began to bubble rapidly on the inside until the color went from a light purple to snowy white. She gasped and looked up, the aura of danger near.

...

Outside, countless numbers of flying ships surrounded the keep, ready to attack.

...

"My Lord Darcia!" Neige called as a red laser shot at the ground beneath her feet, the explosion sending her flying off.

"Cheza!" Kiba called as he ran toward the Flower Maiden, who was still lying on the floor.

"Kiba!" Tsume yelled as the white wolf barely dodged a laser. Kiba braced himself as the ground shook and a large crevice appeared in the middle of the room.

"CHEZA!" Kiba screamed as the side of the room the Flower Maiden was on began to sink into the ground and got farther and farther away by the second.

"Blue! No!" Hige yelled as he saw Blue was also on the "wrong" side of the chamber.

...

"Cheza…" The woman in the blue coat ran up to the unconscious Flower Maiden.

"We have to hurry," The man in the blue trench coat said as he knelt next to her.

...

Quent stared at his former dog, "How could you? Why Blue?"

The black dog stared at her former owner emotionlessly as the ground shook.

"Quick!" The man, carrying Cheza, yelled as he and the woman ran past Quent, lasers raining down on them.

"Blue!" Quent called as the dog disappeared into the clouds of dust.

...

Darcia stared down at his love, the commotion shaking the castle to its core. He picked Hamona up and held her for a moment as one of the lasers broke the stained glass windows in front of them and glass poured down on top of them.

The Noble could feel his castle falling apart. Each explosion was like a stab in the gut to him, but he could no longer feel it. He couldn't feel anything anymore, why should he anyway? He had no reason to even live now that Hamona was gone.

...

The man and the woman ran through the corridors, desperately trying to find a way out. The walls exploded and dust surrounded them.

"Jagara!" The woman said as she and the man turned a corner and found themselves face to face with hundreds of people dressed in full armor, equipped with spears and everything of the sort.

A black wolf ran up to one of the front soldiers and bit it on its neck. "That way!" The she-wolf seemed to say as the soldier hit the ground.

"Did that wolf just say something?" The man said as one of the soldiers lifted it's shield and activated some kind of force that rendered the black wolf unconscious.

The man began to hold Cheza tighter as he turned around to see that they were surrounded…

...

The pack ran down the passageway as fast as they could. Kiba suddenly peeled off and ran straight back into the chaos.

"Kiba!" Ry called.

"What are you doing?" Tsume yelled as the wall next to them exploded and dust clouded their vision and blocked the path of their friend, "Kiba!" Tsume shouted.

...

Quent moved slowly down the corridor, his arm had broken from when a laser almost hit him. He knew he had to get out of this place soon or else he would die and be buried with the wretched castle.

...

Cheza opened her eyes, she was in the arms of a strange armored human and she saw two familiar looking humans walking in front of her. Other heavily armored soldiers surrounded them and they were all entering a strange aircraft. The Flower Maiden gasped "Kiba…" She felt two familiar humans look back at her as she turned to call out to her friend, "Kiba!" She bellowed as loud as she could.

The soldier that was holding her stepped onto a platform that lifted them up into the ship, that soon began to take off.

A white wolf chased after the departing ship.

...

Kiba ran at top speed, he knew what it would mean if he lost Cheza again. There was no guarantee that he would find her this time.

...

Lord Darcia stood on the roof, the wind lashing out around them. He held his love close to him as he looked over his keep. His beloved castle being devoured by flames and smoke every moment that he stood there, but he didn't care.

Suddenly white light began to spill over the castle it continuously becoming brighter. Something was about to happen.

...

The pack sprinted down the corridor. They had to get out of here.

The five wolves stopped abruptly as a large fissure opened in the floor, knocking them off balance.

Ry got up quickly and saw that the crack had gotten so big already even though it had only been a few moments. He looked towards his mother, who now stood next to him.

"We can't go back," Rayne said as she stared at the large gap between them and their only chance of safety.

"I know," Ry replied. He looked down into the blackness. Would they survive if they fell all the way down there?

"We can't," Toboe said worriedly, "It's impossible, we can't jump that far!"

"We have no other choice Toboe!" Hige yelled as an explosion sounded off near them, "We have to!"

Toboe looked up at his friend. _Hige's right,_ the red wolf thought, _this is our only choice._

"Come on!" Tsume said as he grabbed Rayne's hand.

The five wolves jogged back so they could get a good running jump. Hige stood next to Ry, who stood next to his mother. Tsume was on the other side of Rayne and next to him was Toboe.

"On three," Hige said bracing himself, "One."

A bomb went off down the corridor, violently knocking down an entire wall.

"Two." Ry yelled as yet another bomb exploded even closer this time.

Rayne felt Tsume grip tighten around her hand. They had to make it.

"Three!" They all shouted as they began to run.

As the five wolves leaped across the cavity, everything slowed down. Tsume heard a bomb go off directly behind them. He felt the heat from the explosion singe his fur. In the sheer moment that he felt Rayne's hand slip out of his, he panicked. _Rayne, _Tsume thought. And as he saw the ledge coming closer to him, he braced himself for the impact.

As soon as he landed, Tsume looked up. He saw Hige crash nearby and Ry was struggling to get up. Tsume turned around to see Toboe land beside him, but where was Rayne? Tsume got up as quickly as he could.

"Rayne!" Tsume yelled into the massive fire that had formed on the ledge where he and the pack had just jumped from only a moment ago. Could Rayne have been caught in the flames?

Tsume turned to see Hige and Toboe trying to help Ry to his feet.

"What happened?" Tsume said kneeling next to the grey wolf.

"It's my ankle. I must've landed wrong…" Ry replied as he tried to stand, he yelled as he winced in pain "Ow! I'm fine, really… We have to go." Ry looked around for a moment, "Where's my mom?"

"I don't know, but we have to find her," Tsume said as stood up, ready to carry the injured wolf if he had to.

Suddenly the ground shook and gave way. The four wolves were jerked off balance and fell into the unknowing gap.

As they fell into the darkness, time began to slow to almost a crawl. Ry looked down at Tsume and reached out his hand.

Tsume looked up into Ry's eyes and grabbed his extended hand as a white light shone down on them.

As the light constantly became brighter, the wolves continued to fall as if in slow motion.

The last thing Tsume saw before everything went black was the gleam of Ry's amber eyes.


	12. Chapter 12: A Wolf Without A Past Part I

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a really long while, but anyways, ****here's chapter 12.**

**The next few chapters are gonna be a little different from all the others.**

**They are going to be told in first person (because it's the character's dreams, well it's more like their past/memories) and each chapter is devoted to only one character. For example, this chapter is about Hige's dream so it will be told entirely by Hige.**

**Only Hige's part of the story/point of view will be told in this chapter.**

**And since this chapter was just way too long, I split it in half. So the next chapter will also be told in Hige's point of view, it'll just be part II.**

**If you don't understand what I'm talking about I hope you figure it soon or else you're probably going to be really lost. But then again if you're smart enough to watch Wolf's Rain, you're smart enough to figure all this out right?**

**Anyways, thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.**

**Please read and review. (really, please review I love it when you guys leave comments)**

**Enjoy ;D**

******Encounter Twelve: A Wolf Without A Past - Part I**

**_Hige_**

I can't remember anything from back then. I don't know why, maybe I just have a horrid memory like that.

It's weird though, I can only remember the stuff that happened after I arrived at Freeze City… Sometimes I feel like I just appeared in front of the massive dome that encircled the city out of nowhere. Like I had just started existing right then and there.

…

I stood there for a few moments utterly confused. All I knew was that my name was Hige, how to make myself appear as a human, and that I was attracted to the beautiful scent coming from the building in front of me.

After a while I journeyed inside. I found my way through the maze of halls, dodging humans in weird clothing, and ended up in a strange chamber. A large cage was in the center of the room.

In the cage was an unconscious wolf whose white fur was stained with blood.

I stared at him for a while. He opened his eyes as if he'd been awake the entire time.

I talked to him for a bit and helped him escape. It was kind of funny, we walked right past the people that had caught him and no one even noticed us. The perks of being able to appear as a human… Still I saw my new friend look back at one of the detectives, maybe he felt as if that guy had noticed him or something. I don't know, it doesn't matter anyway.

Later we talked some more and I found out his name was Kiba and that he was searching for Paradise. I thought it was kind of strange. I didn't think anyone still believed in that place, but I decided I would go with him anyway.

…

As we hung out the next day, Kiba got this crazy notion that the police would take him back to the building he had been kept in the day before if they arrested him as a human along with the other criminals they were rounding up. He wanted to get to the lab in order to get closer to Cheza, or the beacon that would lead us to Paradise as he called it.

Cheza, as I knew somehow, was the Flower Maiden and was created from Lunar Flowers. But I knew no one could get as far as the lab in there, unless they worked there, not even I could do it and that's saying something.

The more he talked about it, the more it freaked me out. He wouldn't listen to me, no matter what I said. He eventually just turned around and left. I couldn't help but follow him.

…

That night, after successfully being captured and locked up in one of the many cells in "The Building", we awoke with a start in the middle of the night. A strange feeling was in the air, like something was about to happen. Within seconds we were up and as Kiba knelt down to try and pry the bars to the cell apart, I tapped his shoulder and pulled a key out of my pocket. What would he do without me?

…

We sneaked out of the building through a vent and wound up on an abandoned street. I motioned for Kiba to follow me even though I didn't have the slightest clue where I was going. As we ran down the street we stopped suddenly at the sight of a tall human dressed in a long, dark cloak and a strange mask. All in all he was just plain odd. As I took in his appearance, I couldn't help but think the word "Noble", however I couldn't think anything else because I noticed he held a beautiful, yet unconscious, girl in his arms.

"Wolves…" He said, "You have my gratitude. For it was you who woke her."

"What?" I said.

"Who the hell are you?" Kiba yelled.

"The Flower Maiden," He said calmly, unfazed by Kiba, "Is mine."

"The Maiden? Is that Cheza?" I asked uncertainly.

Suddenly everything went bright with white light. I could hardly see. The man held the girl up by her neck. Tears streamed down her face and she screamed. It was a quiet yet high-pitched scream that was barely audible, but it drove me insane and I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted to help her, to rescue the poor Flower Maiden from whoever this person was.

"We'll meet in Paradise," The man said as the white light began to engulf him, "If we meet again that is."

Kiba ran towards the man, but suddenly the white light disappeared and the man was gone. As if he was never there in the first place.

…

The scent of Lunar Flowers disappeared after that. Kiba and I went to find food and we talked about the strange human that had taken the Flower Maiden.

Something about the man was somewhat off-putting to Kiba. The man knew about Paradise and knew that we were wolves the second he looked at us. I tried to brush it off, even though I knew something wasn't right, but Kiba wouldn't drop it. I told him he would be crazy to go after a Noble and we should just head out and go find Paradise instead. However, even though the conversation ended, I don't think Kiba was totally over the whole Noble ordeal.

…

We left the city the next night. We picked up two other wolves before we left. Toboe, a little runt, and Tsume, a wanted gang leader. I guessed they were all right. The more the merrier.

After traveling for what seemed like forever, we stopped in a desolate rocky and snowy wasteland. The four of us waited in a cave for the storm to pass, but it looked like it would never end.

All Toboe and I talked about was food, none of us had eaten anything in three whole days, but Tsume and Kiba seemed like they were fine. Tsume told us to quit out wining and Kiba said if we basked under the moonlight we would last a lot longer without food, he even said that he once lasted a whole month when he did that. Of course, I wasn't in the mood to hear horror stories.

Tsume then said if worst came to worst we could just eat each other, and I quote "We'll start with the runt since he's gotten so weak and of course there's always little porky over there." Figures, my nickname was porky.

As Tsume and Kiba began argue, when Toboe asked Tsume why Kiba wasn't on the menu ("Because he's totally full of crap that's why."), I caught a whiff of something.

I ran out into the snow, the storm had finally cleared. The others followed me. Soon I found where the scent was coming from. A carcass of some kind of deer or antelope lay dead in the middle of nowhere.

We didn't know where it came from; I mean it was all by itself. Tsume asked me if I was going to eat it and I excitedly said, "Yeah, aren't you gonna?" and dove right in to the delectable meal. I honestly didn't care where it came from, I was just glad it was there.

Kiba, Toboe, and I chowed down while Tsume just stood back and refused to eat. I don't why he was so against eating a dead animal.

When Toboe offered Tsume food and told him that we still had a long way to go, Tsume started saying that Paradise didn't exist, which lead to a whole argument on the topic, which ended up in Tsume walking off.

I don't know what the guys problem was, but I was beginning to think the only one acting like a kid around there was him. Toboe went off to follow him; he said something about Tsume being really nice and how he really liked him, but I didn't think that statement was entirely correct. But I saw Kiba's expression when Toboe said that; maybe Kiba realized how much Toboe really cared for Tsume or something like that. I don't know… it's impossible to tell what Kiba's thinking.

…

The two of them were gone for a long time. It got dark really quick and the full moon came out. Kiba and I lay together on a strangely smooth rock surface and basked in the moonlight. We didn't say much.

"Ya know, I was thinking…" I began after a while, "We should go ahead a ditch that guy. I mean it's not like he has to tag along with us anyway. It was happenstance that threw us together and they just ended up with us that's all."

"The same goes for you," Kiba said simply.

"I don't know… That Tsume guy's been giving me a real dangerous vibe from the start."

"He's just different from us that's all. He's always had someone else to blame. That's pretty darn lucky if you ask me. Give him a break, he'll come around."

I sat up, "Okay, so what the hell is up with you anyway? I mean you're always talking like you've got an answer to just about everything. What happened to you before all this?"

"Not much..." That was the only answer Kiba gave me about the matter.

…

After a while, when Tsume and Toboe hadn't returned we sensed something in the distance but didn't pay much attention to it because we had caught the whiff of a wonderful scent in the opposite direction.

Just as Kiba was about to follow the scent he saw something on the ground. It was a red sign that said something that I couldn't read. I said there probably use to be a military base around here somewhere to brush it off, but Kiba just turned around and went towards the thing we sensed earlier. I tried not to question it, so I just followed him.

…

We saved a frightened Toboe and an injured Tsume from a giant military robot. Well, Kiba saved them, I just stood back and watched. But it was pretty awesome. I just couldn't comprehend why Kiba would put himself in harms way for someone else. Especially for someone he didn't get along with all the time.

Kiba somehow destroyed the robot and the next morning we set off again, ready to face whatever the world threw at us.

…

We traveled for what seemed like a lifetime. Through storms of snow and sand, during day and night. It never seemed to end. We were hungry and tired by the time we reached the new city.

A city that had no food, lots of people, tons of wolves, and was surrounded by the ocean. A city that reeked of oil, and smelled faintly of Lunar Flowers.

…

We ran into a bunch of wolves, I didn't like them, except for the one girl that was with them, she didn't say anything, but the other wolves told us that they'd been to Paradise and thought it was more like Hell. I didn't want to believe them. Kiba, Toboe, Tsume, and I kept moving.

Even though Toboe, Tsume, and I all thought we should just ditch the city and go somewhere else, Kiba thought otherwise. He told us that there had to be something in the city, why would there be so many wolves there if there wasn't anything to find? So we stuck around.

…

We wound up in a graveyard with an old wolf. We started talking about Lunar Flowers and the old wolf said Lunar Flowers once covered the whole island, but one day they were all dug up and now there wasn't a single petal left. He showed us to the entrance to a strange and mysterious tunnel that reeked of death.

The old wolf told us that all the young wolves that took that path never found Paradise and the few that returned stayed on the island and made a living for themselves, just like the rest of them. One of the wolves we had run into earlier took the old wolf away and told us to get out of the city before dawn. It was obvious he didn't want us messing up the peace of his pack or his city. He just wanted us gone. And gone for good.

…

That night, as we were talking, the pretty girl from the pack of wolves we had run into earlier came by with a bag of food. I was starving and immediately dug in. Kiba stalked off by himself and Tsume refused to eat anything and went off alone as well. Toboe followed Tsume; I didn't know why the kid wanted the pack to stay together so badly. I didn't pay much attention to what was happening around me anyway, there was too much good food to pass up and the pretty girl, whose name was Cole, was actually talking to me. I began to think that the city had way more going for it than I had previously thought.

…

I went to the Station the next morning. Cole had told me to. She said there would be more food there and that I would see something very fascinating. I didn't know what she meant by that at the time, but I didn't really care.

I found Tsume and Toboe asleep at the Station when I got there. Kiba never came back the night before. I wasn't worried though. We looked over the banister to the busy work being done down below us. It was shocking what we saw.

Wolves, tons of them, pulling weight meant for no creature to bare. It was horrifying. The men whipped the tired, worn-out wolves. The old wolf we'd run into the night before at the graveyard was one of the "workers", if you could call them that. The old wolf passed out suddenly, he had stopped moving. And stopped breathing too.

Work paused for a moment to remove the dead wolf from the area, but immediately resumed as soon as the body was disposed of. The wolf that had warned us to be out of the city by dawn appeared next to us and told us that this was the only way anybody could make a living down here.

By working for the humans the wolves got fed.

I thought it was strangely similar to what Tsume use to do back in Freeze City, but he snapped at me saying that he may have used the humans, but they never used him. But it didn't matter anyways; our opinion didn't change a damn thing.

Kiba appeared out of nowhere and, of course not thinking first, acted on impulse and tried to attack the men who were whipping the wolves, but the wolf we were talking to jumped down and tackled him before he could. That was the end of it.

…

Later, while Kiba rested, Tsume made me go out and look for food. I didn't know how I was going to do it, the only way to get food on the island was to be one of those "worker dogs" and that sure as hell wasn't about to happen.

I caught a whiff of fresh meat for a second. Then I saw it… a moderately sized slab of meat just lyin' around. I picked it up and suddenly I was caught in a trap. Man, did I feel stupid getting caught by such a simple trick.

A few wolves walked up to the cage. The ones we had run into a few nights before. We talked for a bit, I told them I was sorry for any hard feelings we had caused for coming into town, but they wouldn't let me out. As a truck came closer to come and haul me away, cage and all, I began to get aggravated at them. Why wouldn't they just let me out? The conversation heated up, until one of them grabbed me by my collar and punched me in the gut. Then everything went black.

…

I awoke to find myself still in the cage on the back of a growling pick-up truck. I stood up and tried to catch the attention of the driver who was talking to the person in the passenger seat about throwing me in the incinerator and call it a day, but he didn't even notice me. Suddenly, the truck veered off the road and the cage tipped of the side of the truck and feel to the ground.

I looked up to see Kiba, Toboe, and Tsume looking down at me. Kiba pried open the bars of the cage since I refused to do such a barbaric thing. As I slipped out of the cage, the driver began to shoot at us, but another wolf jumped out of nowhere and disarmed him. The four of us began to run and soon the other wolf joined us as well.

…

That other wolf just happened to be the one that tackled Kiba back at the station. He led us to the tunnel in the graveyard and we followed him inside.

None of us were sure that the tunnel was 100% safe, but I guessed it was better than being burned up with the trash.

The wolf stopped as soon as we entered an even bigger tunnel that went on for what seemed like forever. He said that was as far as he planned to go. Kiba asked him why he wasn't going to come with us and he simply said, "I don't know if the place we tried to find was real or not, but I believe that there are some that can make it to Paradise and some who can't. I'm convinced in that… And it's time you find out for yourselves if the real Paradise does exist… Somewhere at the end of this road."

A few moments went by and I was over come with the urge to ask one final question.

"Hey, what's your name anyway?" I asked.

"Me? My name is Zali," The wolf replied never taking his eyes off the road that lay before us.

And with that Toboe, Tsume, Kiba, and I all began running.

...

**I can't believe it's already been a year since i started this! Thank you guys soo much for all your support for my fanfiction. Happy one year anniversary everybody! Please review!**


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